Apple Supplier Foxconn Admits To Hiring Minors To Work In Factories

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s supplier Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. (TPE:2354) has recently admitted to hiring underage workers between the ages of 14 to 16 to work in their factories.

The company recently released the following statement in regards to the situation, “An internal investigation carried out by our company has confirmed media reports in China, that some participants in the short-term student internship program that is administered at our campus in Yantai, Shandong Province are under the legal working age of 16 years. This is not only a violation of China’s labor law, it is also a violation of Foxconn policy, and immediate steps have been taken to return the interns in question to their educational institutions.”

Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. (TPE:2354) promised further investigation to find out how it happened and what actions to proceed with next. They also told Chinese officials that they plan on hiring only interns of legal age.

According to PC World, the tech company’s internship program teams up with local educational institutions and vocational schools to hire students as interns for periods ranging from three to six months, with some considered for full-time jobs.

Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. (TPE:2354) is the tech supply company that manufactures a wide variety of products for companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ). There was no report as to which products were manufactured during the time of the underage interns’ employment. They did confirm that Apple products were not made in the Yantai factory.

This wasn’t the first time Foxconn has gotten in trouble over employee-related issues. Just last September, one factory’s employees got into a large fight, where forty people were injured. The company suspended production for the rest of the day. Earlier this year, the company garnered media scrutiny over poor working conditions and a couple of employee suicides. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s chief executive officer, Tim Cook, paid a visit to one of the Foxconn factories where his company’s products are made.